Sage O’Donnell among ‘worthy men, sons, brothers’ who protected Ukraine
A resident of the Ukrainian city of Lviv has remembered Sage O’Donnell as among the ‘worthy men, sons, brothers’ who died fighting to protect her country.
A local Ukrainian woman Anja Konstantynova has paid tribute to Victorian man Sage O‘Donnell, 24, who was killed in battle while fighting for Ukraine.
Ms Konstantynova, a resident of the Drohobych city in Lviv, said Mr O’Donnell was among the “worthy men, sons and brothers” who fought to protect Ukraine.
“Today, the legionnaire from the unit of our friends gave his life for Ukraine,” she said in a Facebook post.
“I’ll say one thing: the best die … we are protected by worthy men, sons, brothers … what a pity … many are already protecting us from heaven.”
“Rest in peace ‘Seagull’ … Thank you for the ultimate sacrifice you made for another Country … for our Ukraine.”
Another Victorian man, Brandon Declan replied saying, “RIP my dear friend, I’ll see you again when my time comes.
“Thank you for helping Ukraine in its time of need.”
In a video posted by Ms Konstantynova, Mr O’Donnell can be seen training with a rifle, firing shots in quick succession before turning to face the camera with a smile.
In a statement released by DFAT, Mr O’Donnell’s mother mourned the loss of her son.
“Sage was much loved by his friends and family. Sage’s humour, kind heart, values and laughter will be dearly missed,” she said.
“We are devastated by our recent loss of Sage.”
But amid the pain of her loss, Mr O’Donnell’s mother praised his “passion” and upstanding values.
“Sage passionately upheld his values and served here in his own country and most recently in Ukraine,” she said.
A friend of Mr O’Donnell, Scott Bailey, is also among the Australians who travelled overseas to fight against Russia.
On Friday, December 23, Mr Bailey, originally from the Gold Coast, wordlessly changed his Facebook cover photo to an image of Mr O’Donnell lying on the floor posing with his rifle equipment.
A single comment under the image Mr Bailey posted, was a commemorative comment from Ms Konstantynova.
“RIP ‘Chaika’ thank you for your sacrifice,” she replied.
“We will remember is forever”.
The word Chaika is the Romanisation of the nickname given to Mr O’Donnell, meaning Seagull.
It is understood O’Donnell is the youngest Australian to die fighting in the Ukrainian foreign legion, but the precise circumstances and location of his death remain unclear.
His death comes less than two months after 40-year-old Queensland man Trevor Kjeldal was killed in a mortar attack by Russian forces in the Donbas region. Kjeldal, who reportedly went by the call sign “Ninja”, had been injured in July and hospitalised in the Ukrainian capital.
Michael O’Neill, who lived in Tasmania before he travelled to Ukraine this year, was believed to have been engaged in humanitarian work evacuating wounded soldiers from the frontline before he became the first Australian to be killed by Russian fire.
Two months later, 27-year-old Jed Danahay became the second Australian to die in Ukraine after he was reportedly killed in the town of Izyum, south of Kharkiv, in late August while working as a combat medic.
Conflicting reports suggest the current number of Australian volunteers serving in the foreign legion could range between 200 and 600 personnel.
While the Ukrainian government has urged foreign fighters to join an international legion against Russia, Australian citizens have been warned repeatedly against fighting for militia on either side of the conflict.
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